THE DAILY
MISSISSIPPIAN
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Volume 103, No. 122
T H E S T U D E N T N E W S PA P E R O F T H E U N I V E R S I T Y O F M I S S I S S I P P I S E R V I N G O L E M I S S A N D OX F O R D S I N C E 1 9 1 1
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Rebels prepare for game against Central Arkansas
Office of Sustainability starts annual Green Week events NATALIE WILLIAMS
nlwilli3@go.olemiss.edu
Ole Miss’ annual Green Week begins this week with a schedule of events to educate the community on the benefits of sustainability. Greek Week intern Ellen Olack said this week-long event opens the discussion of current issues and how individuals can make small, personal changes that strongly impact our environment. “Green Week is important to the campus because it celebrates and highlights efforts that are already in place to reduce the carbon footprint of the university that people may otherwise be unaware of,” Olack said. This year’s events include a tree appreciation walk 10 a.m. at the flagpole in the Circle, the Sustainability Fair at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, an Earth Day keynote speaker at 7 p.m. on Wednesday in the Overby Center Auditorium, a community bike ride followed by luncheon 11 a.m. Thursday in front of the Lyceum, an EcoGala at 7 p.m. Thursday in Bryant Hall Cody Thurkill, 9, looks at a Green Week exhibit of litter collected from the University of Mississippi campus Monday.
PHOTO BY: CADY HERRING
SEE GREEN WEEK PAGE 3
Vitale rejoins column Overby lecture discusses society for third year importance of equal pay rights
KELSEY KNECHT
ELIZABETH HOCEVAR
Austin Vitale was recently invited to rejoin The Columns Society of the University of Mississippi for the third year in a row, the first person in the group’s history to do so. Vitale is a senior public policy leadership and English major from Moorpak, California. He is member of the Sally McDonnell-Barksdale Honor College, the Trent Lott Leadership Institute and Delta Psi Fraternity. Columns Society is an organization of up to 28 members and is one of the most sought-after roles for students at the university. The society comprises the host and hostesses of the university, who represent the student and staff body. The students come from across the country and hold a variety of offices and leadership positions.
Executive director of Equal Rights Advocates Noreen Farrell invited students to take part in online equal rights petitions and spoke on the importance of female action in the fight for fair pay in the Overby Center Thursday. The title of the lecture, hosted by the Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies, was “Moving Women Forward: What Women Have to Do with It.” Women today make 78 cents for every dollar that a man makes, Farrell said. This wage gap is present in almost every career. Noreen Farrell’s non-profit organization, Equal Rights Advocates, is a strong promoter of equal pay between men and women. The group also helps provide support for women who are ready to fight for their own equality. Farrell said she believes the fight for fair pay will make a
knknecht@go.olemiss.edu
emhoceva@go.olemiss.edu
COURTESY: COLUMN SOCIETY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI
Vitale said there was a Trent Lott Leadership Institute lunch for incoming freshmen the Sunday before school started and was able to eat with two Columns members at his table and one of them described the society and its importance. “It seemed like such an honor, and I decided right at that point that I wanted to be one of them one day,” Vitale said. “After that, I worked to secure all
SEE VITALE PAGE 3
real difference in female socioeconomic status. Mississippi is one of five states with no statutes on equal pay and 80 percent of low-wage jobs in Mississippi are filled by women, Farrell said. Farrell said she believes this could be changed with education and support, and students at universities also had a role to play in promoting change. Students have the chance to do so by signing Equal Rights Advocates’ petitions, which are displayed on their website. Farrell urged that students to consider how equal pay might affect them after graduation when buying a house or paying off loans. “I’m really glad to hear that someone cares about how equal pay affects students’ futures,” Claudia Batres, a freshman education major, said. “I had never thought about how the wage gap might affect my life after graduating.” The lecture celebrated Equal Pay Day, which was held on
April 14 to represent the struggle for equal pay between men and women. Farrell explained what the wage gap was and how it affects the working class. Farrell described her attempts to bring the wage gap issue to Mississippi’s government and said the legislature and governor are the prime targets for a campaign to change Mississippi’s standards on equal pay. “My inspiration comes from my strong feelings towards civil rights,” Farrell said. “I came from a working-class family, and I find it important to fight for equality for the working class.” Farrell and the Equal Rights Advocates organization send out spokespeople to many universities to further influence students on the repercussions students will face because of the wage gap. Farrell believes that with enough education about the wage gap between men and women, people will be more likely to fight for equality.